Authors:
Julia van Heek
;
Simon Himmel
and
Martina Ziefle
Affiliation:
RWTH Aachen, Germany
Keyword(s):
Ambient Assisted Living, Technology Acceptance, User Diversity, Age, Needs of Care, Needs of Assistance, Disabled People.
Abstract:
Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) technologies present one approach facing the challenges of recent and rising care needs due to demographic changes in western societies. Beside the technological implementation, the focus on user acceptance of all stakeholders plays a major role for a successful rollout. As most research deals with age-related issues, this paper emphasizes especially on the sector of disabled persons. In a qualitative interview pre-study (n=9) and a validating questionnaire study (n=279) the perceived benefits and barriers of AAL technologies were contrasted in four user groups: healthy “not-experienced” people, disabled, their relatives, and professional care givers. Results indicate that disabled and care-needy people show a higher acceptance and intention to use an AAL system than “not-experienced” people or care givers and that the motives for use and non-use differ strongly with regard to user diversity as well. The results show the importance to integrate diverse u
ser groups (age, disabilities) into the design and evaluation process of AAL technologies.
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